Unexpected Ways We Harm The Environment While Camping

You’ve probably heard the saying “pack it in, pack it out,” meaning you should leave nothing at your campsite that wasn’t there before. But as long as you pick up all of your trash, the environment will be fine, right?

Wrong. The truth is that there are many other ways to cause unintentional damage. If you’re not careful, camping can be extremely detrimental to the ecosystem.

Photo by Michael Larosa/Unsplash

Taking, damaging, or rearranging natural objects

If you’ve ever been to the beach or gone on a hike, you know how easy it is for an interesting rock, shell, or flower to catch your eye. You’ve probably taken a natural souvenir home from your trip at least once (I know I have).

While it may be tempting, removing any natural element can upset the delicate ecological balance that exists in even the tiniest of habitats. That rock you brought home may have sheltered a variety of different organisms. The shell was a potential home for a hermit crab. The flower you picked played an important role in the process of pollination.

This isn’t to say that you can never again bring home a flower or seashell (although it is illegal to take rocks from any U.S. national park), but keep in mind that every change you make to your surroundings impacts the environment as a whole.

Another common yet destructive practice is trail marking. Some hikers find their way through the desert by rearranging the rocks to build cairns or by scratching their initials into the stone. Not only does this ruin the natural view for other hikers, but it can also destroy animal homes and catalyze the process of erosion.

Blazing or carving into trees is possibly the most disastrous habit of all, since it exposes the tree to diseases that could eventually kill it. No one wants to be responsible for the fall of a 500-year-old sequoia.

Introducing invasive species

Sometimes you can even bring a bit of nature home with you and not realize it. Invasive species spread from place to place by hitching a ride on cars, RVs, shoes, clothing, and pets.

Photo by Mel/Unsplash

Some species are incredibly damaging to the ecosystem and can choke out natural wildlife. Become more aware of invasive plants and animals and take a look at this invasive species list.

Before your trip, remember to wash any seeds, spores, or insects off of your vehicles and clothing. Do the same before returning home.

Creating chemical pollution

Do you plan to set up camp next to a leisurely brook, whip out the dish soap, and start scrubbing your plates in the stream? If so, you might want to take a second and reconsider.

Photo by Andrew Wulf/Unsplash

Soap, shampoo, toothpaste, and other cleaning products often contain chemicals that can do a lot of damage to the environment. If absolutely necessary, use a small amount of biodegradable soap.

Camp at least 200 feet away from a natural water source—any closer, and cleaners can leach into the water, poisoning animals that live in it or drink from it.

Even bug spray and sunscreen can be environmentally harmful. Chemicals from sprays can pollute the air, while lotions can wash off into the water and kill marine life. Try to use non-chemical bug sprays and sunscreens, and allow them to dry before going swimming.

Creating mechanical pollution

While toys like dirt bikes and ATVs can be fun, they can also damage the air and landscape if overused. Ride only in designated areas so as not to cause extra erosion, and minimize the time you spend on your vehicle.

Photo by Koen Van Ginkel/Unsplash

Try other, more eco-friendly activities, like riding bicycles or going for a hike. If you have a generator in your RV, use it to charge your battery rather than running it constantly. Not only do they consume fuel, but generators also pollute the air with carbon dioxide and unnecessary noise.

Disposing of trash improperly

Everyone knows that littering harms the environment, but even disposing of trash can be harmful if done the wrong way. When putting garbage into a trash bag, sort out the recyclables from the non-recyclables. Those who recycle at home on a regular basis often don’t take the time to put glass and plastic in a separate bag while camping.

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Don’t bury your toilet paper—yes, it is biodegradable, but it still takes several months to decompose. Animals sometimes dig it up and spread it around the woods, which would be very unpleasant for future campers. Be sure to collect all your trash; even something as simple as a plastic 6-pack holder will take 5 centuries to decompose and can easily strangle small animals.

Food scraps and leftovers also qualify as trash. Don’t “leave it for the birds” as you might have been told. Pick up all large scraps and put them in a trash bag. Dispose of your trash in a campground dumpster or bring it inside your RV, unless you want some furry visitors in the middle of the night. Never feed the local wildlife; not only can it make them aggressive toward humans, but it can also make them very sick.

Building campfires

Nothing says “camping” like a campfire—but nothing says “environmental damage” like a hazardous campfire. Anywhere a fire is built, the natural process of decomposition is interrupted and the soil loses its quality.

Sparks can fly into nearby dry grass and underground roots can smolder, increasing the risk of wildfires. Only build a fire if you have to—campfires consume precious wood, create smoke that pollutes the air, and leave ashes on the ground. Try using a camping stove to cook meals instead of tossing them over the flames.

Photo by Almos Bechtold/Unsplash

Wood and dry leaves are safe to burn, but never try to burn trash like plastic bottles, styrofoam dishes, or aluminum cans. Chemicals from synthetic materials can leave behind toxic residues when burned, as well as release harmful gasses into the air. Pieces of paper or cardboard can also fly out of the flames and start wildfires. If you do plan to build a fire, use existing fire rings and proper fuel.

This earth is the only one we’ve got, so don’t ruin it on your vacation. Let’s work together to protect the wild places so that future generations can enjoy camping as well. Be mindful of the environment and camp responsibly.

I think you went a little overboard here. Making the comment : “Only build a fire if you have to” ~ REALLY? Whom determines that? You? Or, some Psycho Environmental group? Here we go again, with the same folks that want others to mind their own business and stay out of their lives. Putting their self-righteous GUILT trip on others! Here is the simple version folks. Do not take anything but photos, and and do NOT leave anything, but memories. Anything more, is like being lectured by a hyperbolic person. We do camp, and most of us have been doing so for years. So, we do NOT need to be preached about invasive species, and things like moving firewood. Of course that brings up another problem. If you bring wood with you, you risk bringing in evasive species with you (Ash Borer [beatle] ). And, if you buy the Firewood at the campground, are you consuming precious wood, that cannot be replaced?

NOT polluting water sources is important for all of mankind and littering needs to be avoided, but the rest…hmmm??? In 2000 I re-walk Colin Fletcher’s “1000 Mile Summer”. For those that are unfamiliar, he walked the eastern side length of California in the late 50’s and wrote the book. My point is, I saw a lot of country, the good, the bad and the ugly.

First, the ugly was every town I needed to go through to resupply and as I walked away it got less and less ugly. The bad, was mostly the idiots and unkind people along the path. So now for the good… there is STILL plenty of wonderful spots to enjoy. The exception is when polluted water from one area floats downstream to another area leaving it nasty.

Many of us are not turned off when we come to a existing campfire spot unless there is trash/litter left behind, or it’s not completely put out. THEN it’s a problem!!! If I don’t want to see campfire spots along my path… maybe I shouldn’t walk a popular trail where many people (idiots and unkind) walked before.

Is it sad that many more people are walking the PCT, CDT, and AT? Yes!!! That is why I walked Fletcher’s to avoid all of the crap people leave behind. Fletcher’s path on the 1000 Mile Summer is nothing like the PCT/CDT/AT. Those are like going to Disney World to get away from the crowds!!! Several times I went 1-1/2 to 2 weeks without seeing anyone! You will never get that on those trails!!!

Think about it this way… few of us here, if any want L.A.’s, Seattle’s, New York City’s, ETC. trash on our trails, but it’s going to happen. That’s called reality… a few bad apples. I’m not saying we shouldn’t care, but let’s first care about the more important things, like forest management and Water.

Right now (Aug 2018) No. Calif and So. Oregon are on fire and I’m not worried about a campfire ring or two. Nor about some litter on a trail that just went up in smoke…. but the funky soapy water upstream will still be soapy downstream.

Another point I believe worth mentioning, was the Ancient’s rock art really art or was it graffiti in their day as well? I don’t know, nor do I care a lot about it and ours… my point is this, Yosemite used to allow bonfires to be pushed off the cliffs at night and in its day it was all the rave. Now it’s not allowed, but I for one would have loved to see it back then. As long as it didn’t start a forest fire… hmmm.. okay!

The point is, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. I can think of many, many times quadding, hiking, trucking out in the wild places to look at “People Junk.” such as, Mining camps and shafts (think Bodie State Park), Indian “art”, cabins in the mountains, etc.

Once standing at the midway point of the 1000 Mile Summer hike, middle of nowhere, miles and miles from people, when I came across a “Coke” brand bottle I found myself standing in awe. Did I get mad… NO… for the next several days I thought about, how did it get there, who may have dropped it (discarded/littered), what the back story was. I found myself entertained for a long while. The bottle was an old one and I had always wanted to ask Coke to give me a date on it as I never recall seeing that style before.

So here’s a question for all of you, should I have left it to entertain others who may stumble upon it or pack it out? Should we go clean up the graffiti the Indians/Ancients left behind? Personally, I don’t have all of the answers, BUT what I do know is for 6 months walking the east side of California, right through the heart of Death Valley and on to Oregon, WATER purity was of the most importance!

Depending on where these issues take place depends a great deal on how much of a real problem they are… with little wind and rain to wash away Man’s mark, stagecoach tracks last a long, long time. But how many of us love the idea of walking the Oregon trail seeing those ruts?

Water, water, water is the most important issue!!! THAT has to always be the most important item concerned about as the rest usually are one’s opinion of importance!

I just looked at the time and realized I dumped all over you guys…. too much coffee! Have a great day and enjoy the great outdoors wherever you go and how ever you get there just remember don’t pollute the water and scenery with anything. Liked mention by others, Take only pictures and leave only footprints!!!

Again, I cannot speak to the intelligence or lack of, in people. But to assume that being out in Nature, is thereby destroying Nature is silly. Yes, when MANY people visit popular sites like Yosemite they cause damage to trails, and unfortunately they leave behind trash. But, that is why the National Park Service made a recent AD campaign. National Parks: A Love Story. It details the need to make repairs to trails, roads, bridges, and visitor centers. Since, over 300 Million people visiting yearly. Repairs are constantly needed. But, if National Parks were off Limits to ALL, how would the NPS gain and keep public support?

So, now you can’t use bug spray? Give me a break! If you REALLY don’t want to “harm” the environment, DON’T GO! There is absolutely no way you can go out into the environment and NOT have some measurable impact.

Here is my gripe with this thread. This is supposed to be “RV Life”, and a contribution to that Medium. So, yes some RV’ers Might decide to go off the beaten path, and Hike a 1000 miles. But, not many. Given that, why parade a list of pet peeves here? Why not post on a venue designed for backpackers or hikers? I mean listing things like NOT leaving stuff like COKE cans is no-brainer for me. I cannot speak for others, but I would take an educated guess that RV’ers in General hold the same values as BOY/GIRL Scouts. That is to police any areas we set up camp, before to look for dangers like glass, metal, or poisonous plants (IVY, SUMAC). And after we camp, to leave “NO TRACE”. As far as Soapy Water goes, we used a minimum of soap on backpacking trips (Boy Scouts) [ we were told that everything that goes with you, must be brought back out] , and any soapy water (we used hand sanitizer to bathe) was contained and taken with us, so NOT to harm the ecosystem. And that is why I do NOT understand this on a RV site. Most ALL RV’s have self-contained systems that keep Black Water (Toilet) and Grey Water safely on board and out of the ecosystem. Then contents are dumped at designated dump stations.

A quick apology… sometimes I sit down to my laptop and respond to many different blogs about different outdoor activities, this being one of those moments when I didn’t consider which one I was responding to so I am sorry for crossing over from RVing to hiking. I spend lots of time outdoors many different ways and believe there are some people who care and are concerned about how they impact people and places and many more that don’t. Again, I’m sorry for crossing over…